Double brood boxes

[Frisbee]

Hello Frisbee
In relation to bcrazy's riddle....would you put a brood box on the ground? Wouldn't you put it on the supers or roof?

Yes I would put it on the roof - well I think I would, I was just thinking the reasons why and the thought that you could loose the queen by her dropping out

Are you going for double brood?

I don't know. . . . I hear the talk. . . . my Somerset mentor uses brood and a half, he wants an early blossom crop from his orchard though - then his bees swarm if he's not careful, he lost more than half his honey crop this year when the weather turned bad - so many bees ate all the stored honey.
My local mentor uses single Nationals, which way to go???

Frisbee

 

[rich]

Hi Bcrazy
So us newbies who want to start using double boods, learn the hard way ????


Ummmmmmmmmm

Rich

 

[Frisbee]

No - he will tell us, but sometimes you have to think. . . .

Frisbee

 

[Norton]

Hello,
I have just added some more pictures to my albums to illustrate the results of using a single broodchamber. The hives are in Israel and they use full depth supers as they have hydraulic equipment for lifting. The hives belong to Yoram Paz of Emek Hefer Apiaries and have Superbee queens.
You should also look at the photos that Mike Roberts posted about "Langstroth on the heather" - single broodchambers and 3/4 depth supers for the honey. Mike would you like to comment?
Best regards
Norton.

 

[BKF Admin]

Hi Bcrazy
So us newbies who want to start using double boods, learn the hard way ????


Ummmmmmmmmm

Rich

Frisbee Is correct,Bcrazy is very good and helpful but will refuse to spoon feed us,he likes us to have a think first.

 

[mikethebee]

never use suppers all brood boxs

 

[Norton]

Hello Mike,
In the photos you have posted above they are full depth - the ones on "Langstroth on the heather" look like 3/4 depth supers - do you use queen excluders or have a free broodnest?
Best regards
Norton.

 

[rich]

Sorry, just a tounge in cheek reply. I know Bcrazy (Mo) he has help me quite a bit in the past ..... Have no fear, I know he'll come through with an answer.

Rich

 

[BKF Admin]

Thats cool Rich,thanks for the post.

Just noticed you share location.

 

[mikethebee]

NORTON your getting rather nosy in my operation do you secretly want to join the team?
And bring them queens with you to try.
In answer to your post me old mate? Yes all B.S.Nationals are full brood no supers at all
The langstroth are ? 6inch supers because the hire hands moan about picking them up
And we use queen exs
All the best mike

 

[Bcrazy]

Sorry if I have kept you all waiting but if I explain everything then it takes away from study by others.

Inspection of a double brood chamber.

Just for this inspection we are to mark the queen.

Smoke hive.
Remove roof, but instead of placing alongside the hive place it at the rear.
Remove crown board, place along side hive.
Remove all supers and place on the crown board.
Remove QE and place on supers.
Remove top brood box and place on QE.
Place roof on top brood box.
If the queen is in the top box then there is no way she can escape .
Carry out the inspection of the lower brood box.
Queen in top box.
Remove roof and place top brood box onto lower brood box and inspect.
Queen found and marked at hive.
Replace QE and reassemble hive.
Job done.

Nothing special except taking extra measure to ensure the queen does not leave the top box whilst inspecting the lower box.
This is the recommended method prescribed by the NDB.
Always check the bottom brood box first.

Regards;

 

[Finman]

.
To whom has this written
That is some computer engineer's view to beekeping


There is no difference with double box or single box.

And how the queen is mixed in this nursing like it is in some danger.

***************

Double brood box is inconvenient during swarming time. One box more to inspect if there are queen cells.
If there is not swarming time, there is no need to inspect the lower brood box.

In swarming preventing you may use different methods with douple box. http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/PDFs/Swarm_Prev_Control_PM.pdf
Reversing brood boxes is basic procedure.
To add the second brood box, over or under, we get a good debate. I put under.

Many in Finland use system that brood box is uppermost. They say that it prevents swarming.
When box is full of brood, new box is moved over excluder and queen too.

***********

The wonder is that what ever you use, the yield will be the same, because the yield is in flowers.
No box system can change the pastures.

 

[Finman]

.
MAAREC's basics text: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/agrs93.pdf

Different management schemes are used according
to the depth of hive bodies utilized for the brood area of the hive. One scheme is to use a single full-depth hive body, which theoretically would give the queen all the room she needs for egg laying. However,
additional space is needed for food storage and maximum brood nest expansion. Normally a single full-depth brood chamber is used when beekeepers want to crowd bees for comb honey production, when a package is installed, or when a nucleus colony or division is first established. Most beekeepers elect to use either two full-depth hive bodies or a full-depth and a medium or shallow for the brood area (Figure 10). However, using hive bodies similar in size permits the interchange of combs between the two hive bodies. Beekeepers who wish to avoid heavy full-depth hive bodies may elect to use three shallow hive bodies for the brood nest. This approach is certainly satisfactory, but it is also the most expensive
and time consuming in assembly since it requires three boxes and thirty frames instead of two boxes and twenty frames

 

[Finman]

.
but it is also the most expensive
and time consuming in assembly since it requires three boxes and thirty frames instead of two boxes and twenty frames

I wonder that idea. Basicly the colony needs space when it grows even if it doe not get honey. They need the room and it is fine if they fill the room later with honey.